Hope paced back and forth in the lobby of the orphanage. His seemingly endless patience was running thin because of his worry. It had been over a month since Black Mist was taken by Don Thousand, and while it was only a blip in a Number's time, it still felt like ages. He knew he was worrying the children and Anuenue, but he couldn't hide how anxious he felt anymore.

But he had to continue on to upkeep the orphanage. Burying his worry, Hope turned away from the window he was staring out of to go prepare lunch when a strong energy caught his attention.

I know this energy, he realized. He turned his attention back to the window and spotted a black shadow against the brightness of day, seemingly flying towards the orphanage. That black was broken up by a series of green and red markings. As his jaw dropped in surprise, hope swelled in his chest.

He tore the door open just as Black Mist barreled into him. Hope embraced the Number tightly.

"You're back!" he exclaimed. It was hard to keep the relief out of his voice. "I thought you'd never return!"

Black Mist relaxed in the embrace. "I missed you so much, Papa."

Hope was taken aback. It hadn't been long since they accepted the truth of the curse, but after Hachi's death, Mist seemed much more closed off than before. Now, though...

"What happened there?" he asked abruptly.

Black Mist looked up. He wore a knowing smirk on his face. "What happened where?"

"You know where. With Don Thousand?"

"Don Thousand? Didn't you claim that he was a myth?"

Something was wrong. Mist probably didn't know it, but Hope could see it in the confusion in his eyes. "Didn't you-"

But Hope didn't have time to ask his question; Black Mist's eyes rolled to the back of his head and fainted in his foster father's arms as if some switch had been turned on. Either that, or he was tired. Either way, it concerned the 39 to no end. Why had he suddenly fainted? What had Don Thousand done to elicit such a reaction?

Then a dreadful thought hit him. What if he fainted because of this conversation? Is this topic off limits to him?

He didn't know for now. Perhaps later he could bring up the conversation when Mist woke again as an experiment, but for now, he needed to get the Number into a bed he was familiar with so he wouldn't wake up in some state of panic.

Gathering his son in his arms, Hope carried Mist right to his room, ignoring the children's inquiries for now. He could answer them later; right now, he had a job to do.

He didn't turn on the lights as soon as he entered the dark room. What would be the point if all he was doing was putting Mist to bed? He settled his son on the bed, tucked him in, and, with one last longing look, exited the room.

~.~.~

Black Mist woke up, greeted by stiffness in his body. Groaning in discomfort, he sat up and looked at his surroundings. He nearly cried out in joy when he found himself back in his own room if not for the five figures standing in front of him. They were completely black with glowing white eyes and mouths, but they seemed less threatening.

And the best part was that he remembered them all. Their names popped into his head, but he didn't dare call them by name now. Not anymore.

They were Shadow Creatures, after all. They had no memory of their lives.

One by one, the children walked up to him. Each one muttered an apology, hugged him (and took some of his chaos into them while they were at it), and disappeared into the shadows. Mist found that he couldn't will himself to move unless they initiated the hug, in which case he embraced them gently but firmly. He murmured quiet forgiveness to each one of them, accepting their presence in the Shadow Realm as his Creatures.

As if waiting for the quiet meeting to be over, a soft knock interrupted the darkness. The door opened a crack.

"Mist?" Anuenue called. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Black Mist replied. "You don't have to hide, you know. I won't bite."

Nue couldn't help but smile and opened the door to let herself in. "Should I keep the lights off?"

"I'd say so, but honestly I don't feel like staying in darkness. It feels like I've been in it for too long."

"Lights on, it is." She flicked the switch; the room was instantly awash with light. Mist had to blink a few times to adjust to the brightness. Nue caught on quickly. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing too bad," he deflected. "I'm just not used to light right now. I traveled here through the shadows, and wherever I was obviously didn't have much light. It won't take long to get used to it."

They fell into surprisingly comfortable silence as Black Mist took his time adjusting to the light. He seemed changed. The tenseness Nue didn't even know was there was gone, his gaze more open and brighter. What happened during the time he was missing? Did he finally do something about the curse?

"Keep staring at me like that and you'll bore holes in my face," Mist commented dryly.

Nue jerked a little at the sudden voice. "Sorry! I just...what happened while you were away?"

Black Mist remained silent for quite a while, long enough for Nue to assume he wouldn't be answering the question. After a while, though, he let out a deep sigh. "I'm honestly not sure. My memories are foggy at best, painful at worst. I just remember being with the face behind the voice, though I don't remember that face."

"Did he do anything to you?" Considering his memory was taken, Nue didn't really think she could trust a being like that.

"I'm positive he didn't. He was always protecting me in any way he could. I just...I just don't remember my time with him. One thing's for certain, though." A smile found its way to his face. "The curse is gone. He made it go away."

Relief courses through the girl. She dramatically sighed in relief and plopped beside Mist. "Good riddance! At least now everyone will be able to relax!"

Black Mist laughed heartily. "Let's go see everyone, then. I'm sure they missed me dearly." A playful smirk played on his lips as he hoisted himself off the bed and out to his new life.

Nue smiled and followed him out. If her people were still alive, they'd sing songs in celebration. Well, she'd have to do it for them, then.

~.The End.~

A/N: Finally done, and I'm really happy with how it turned out! ^^